Looking to upgrade my phone, in need of some advice.

Hey everybody, just joined the forum to ask some advice.

Basically, I got my first smartphone almost two years ago. It was a Droid 2 Global which I received as a gift. It was part of an unlimited talk/text/data family plan on Verizon. While I loved the phone, a few months back it bought the farm. Fortunately, it was a few weeks after my contract expired so I checked out the phones that Verizon had available. I ended up settling on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus for a variety of reasons, primarily the excellent reviews from reputable sources such as Cnet, and an attractive price of about $50 on Amazon.com. As a point of reference, this was back in September.

Needless to say, going from the Droid 2 running Android Gingerbread with Motoblur to the GNex with the bone-stock Ice Cream Sandwich was incredible, and overwhelming. A little bit too overwhelming, in fact. While it was an excellent device, some of the features, particularly just the size of it (I've got pretty large hands and all, but a 4.65" AMOLED display is a pretty daunting prospect for one-handed use.) were a bit off putting at first, and my concern about becoming contractually obligated to a phone I was unhappy with lead me to return it before the 2-week grace period expired. I figured I'd switch back to my brother's old Droid 2, and see what phones came out in the next couple of months.

And that brings us to where I am today. Rocking a janky Droid 2 with a busted touchscreen and a giant skull sticker on the back, and scoping out the available phones. I've gotten over my hangups about large phone sizes, and accepted that that's just one aspect of the current generation of mobile technology, and have definitely come around to seeing the appeal of the Nexus line of devices, and the pure Google experience they offer. The Galaxy Nexus is available for like, a penny on Amazon which is an attractive price and the Nexus 4 has just been released so those are really the two phones I'm interested in.

The issue with the GNex, of course, is that now it's 2 months older and 2 months more out of date than it was when I was initially considering it, and so my concerns about being contracted to an out-of-date phone are even more real now. I mean, does it really make sense to buy the previous model of something when the next iteration is already out?
On the other hand, the Nexus 4 is not currently available on Verizon, so I'd have to leave my family plan to get it. Given the price that I'm paying right now, I think buying the unlocked Nexus and going to another carrier such as T-Mobile will cost me more in the long run than just sticking with Verizon. Verizon also has the best service in my area (north-eastern United States) by a pretty generous margin.

If the Nexus 4 was potentially going to become available to Verizon customers in the next couple of months, I'd definitely consider waiting around for it, but it seems like kind of a gamble.

So I guess my question boils down to: What are the odds that an LTE version of he Nexus 4 is going to come to Verizon? And is the Gnex a good enough phone that I should consider contracting myself to it for the foreseeable future, given the subsidized price currently available, even considering it's age? If the answer to both of these is no, is there another phone/option I should consider?
Thanks so much for reading this and helping me out, it seems like a great community you've got going here. I really look forward to your responses.

Re: Looking to upgrade my phone, in need of some advice.

I meant to answer this last night but forgot.

There is little chance right now of an LTE nexus. There is a slim hope in a few months but as time goes by, I am having more and more doubts. I am not sure that I would go with the Gnex, but it will depend on what you find important in a phone. I would go with something newer if I was signing a new contract. The SGS3 can be had for around the same price as the gnex and IMHO it is superior. If price is not an issue and you want to wait, CES is right around the corner and I am sure they will be brining all kinds of new stuff out then.

Re: Looking to upgrade my phone, in need of some advice.

I have to agree - the odds of a VZW Nexus 4 are dead center in between Bob and No Hope. If you're looking for the latest generation hardware on VZW, I would seriously look at the HTC DNA. Form everything I've seen and heard it is truly one super phone. I'm even considering giving up my trusty DInc for it. Perhaps Santa will be kind.

Re: Looking to upgrade my phone, in need of some advice.

Re: Looking to upgrade my phone, in need of some advice.

Hey guys, thanks for the responses.

Pretty disappointing news about the Nexus 4. As for the other flagship models, specifically the S3 and the DNA, between the manufacturer skins, size, and the construction, they just don't really appeal to me the way they do to others. I mean, these are largely aesthetic reasons, but if I'm going to have this thing on my person for the next couple of years, having a device I enjoy using is just as important to me as making sure I'm not stuck with outdated hardware.

I'm not too concerned about having the latest and greatest, because with the rate that mobile technology is advancing right now it probably won't be the greatest for terribly long. I'll make a point to swing by a Verizon store and just check the S3 and the DNA out though.

Re: Looking to upgrade my phone, in need of some advice.

I always end up recommending the latest version of the RAZR MAXX to my friends on Verizon. Battery life is fantastic and with the new HD version the screen is nicer. I know having moto blur is a drag but phones are so powerful now that running a launcher for a more stock look isn't nearly as taxing as it was even a year ago.

This may be just me but I also think the RAZR M is really attractive. Something about the compact size with pretty competitive internals at such an economical price seems like a win. I've always been a little envious of the moto build quality.

Re: Looking to upgrade my phone, in need of some advice.

Re: Looking to upgrade my phone, in need of some advice.

Originally Posted by piizzadude

it is but you can get rid of a samsung skin a heck of a lot faster and easier than either than the other two.

The S3 supposedly has incredible dev support so if op is looking to root and rom, I can't disagree with that opinion. However, if he's not looking to root, the moto skin is more stock, while touchwiz has more added features.

Re: Looking to upgrade my phone, in need of some advice.

All good options in my opinion, however - realcontrol - the most important thing is how the phone feels and works for you. I would recommend going to a corporate Verizon store where they have live phones to play with and spend an hour or two and use all the phones extensively. Then play with them all again and pick the one that clicks the most for you. It does not have to be the latest and greatest. A good phone from six months ago is still a good phone when the "next best thing" comes out. Heck, my daily driver is over 2 years old and I still love it. I've ROM'd the heck out if it, but it's still a great phone.

Some say that his dormant chips were left that way for YOUR SAFETY... Others say that once "turned on," he can not be turned off... All we know is... He's called The Stig.

Portions of this page are modifications based on work created and shared by the Android Open Source Project
and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 2.5 Attribution License. AndroidCentral is an independent site
that is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google.